Sunday, February 24, 2013

Buffalo Soldiers and Italian Freedom Fighters: Heroes of WWII

History is replete with instances in which the suffering of human
wars brings together disparate people for the greater good, even in the face of
overwhelming cultural and social forces prohibiting social contact and
cooperation. While this significant historical
phenomenon has occurred many times in human history, the facts and intimate
details are often overlooked in favor of more “traditional” stories of heroic
deeds surrounding wars. It is a rare gift to be given a glimpse inside the
hearts and minds of people who have acted together with courage during times of
war despite their cultural, racial, and social differences. The recent showing
at the San Diego Italian Film Festival of Inside Buffalo Soldiers by Italian documentary filmmaker Fred Kuwornu is such a gift.

Wartime “integration” of separate races and classes has been known to unleash powerful forces of social
change throughout history. During World War II, a group of
African-American soldiers and their Italian comrades forged such an unlikely
alliance. Fighting side-by-side with the
sole focus of survival and the defeat of German forces occupying Italy, African-American and Italian soldiers had no conception of the impact that
their camaraderie would have in the United States, eventually leading to some
of the great civil rights gains of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Inside Buffalo Soldiers captures this dramatic set of events. The facts surrounding
African-American soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division deployed to
fight Nazi forces in Italy, are well documented. But until Kuwornu’s
insightful work, no one had attempted to delve deeper into their personal stories
through the medium of documentary filmmaking.

The
term Buffalo Soldier originated in 1866 with the formation of
the US 10th Calvary, an all black volunteer regiment that
fought in the Indian Wars. It is believed the term may have been coined by
Cheyenne warriors who viewed those black soldiers as embodying qualities of
strength and perseverance inspired by the buffalo. The term became
synonymous with African-American soldiers.

The Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Division came to Italy during WWII from an America steeped in racial
discrimination, where African Americans were treated as outsiders in their
own country. Similarly, Italy’s poverty, displacement by fascist invaders and
wartime devastation left a mark on the Italian people. Kuwornu’s film hints of
an unspoken solidarity on this account between black soldiers and war-torn Italians.
Whatever forces may have drawn them together, in 1944, two vastly different
cultures, Italian partisans and Black American soldiers, united in a heroic
struggle against the Nazis. Each was changed by the events that transpired and,
one could argue, each made whole by the experience—Italians by the heroic
support and solidarity of the soldiers of the 92nd and Back American
soldiers by the gratitude and admiration of the Italian people. In sharp
contrast to the experience that awaited them at home, what these
soldiers found in Italy was grateful recognition for their deeds without discrimination.

Lieutenant Vernon Baker

The untold acts of heroism by soldiers of the 92nd Division,
which cost many their lives, have never been forgotten by the Italian
people. Italy was the first in the world to raise a monument to the 92nd, commemorating the men who fought so bravely alongside Italian freedom fighters. In turn, those
brave Americans have never forgotten the hero’s welcome given to them by Italians and the deep friendships that were forged as a result of that wartime
experience. Sadly, it would take America another 40 years to acknowledge their
contributions. In 1997, the Clinton Administration bestowed on them the Congressional
Medal of Honor, the county’s highest honor. Of those honored,Vernon Baker was the only surviving member to receive the award.

Kuwornu’s documentary intertwines, historical
footage, interviews and life-like re-enactments of important battles. Kuwornu himself
conducted the interviews, often surprised to be spoken to in perfect Italian by the former
soldiers who went on to live successful lives as respected statesmen, professionals,
businessmen and public servants.

Documentary filmmaker Fred Kuwornu

With his soft-spoken Italian accent and impeccable English, Fred
Kuwornu first identified the importance of the story of the Buffalo Soldiers
when working in Spike Lee’s movie Miracle at Santa Anna in
Italy.

Kuwornu himself is Italian-born-and-educated of Ghanian and
Italian parentage. Following university, Kuwornu worked as a writer at
RAI 1 TV before forming his own production company FKK FILMZ. His current
project "Paisà Soldiers" is a documentary about the contributions by
Italian-American Veterans in World War II. Kuwornu is an Italian voice
that I predict we will be hearing much more of in the future.

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About Me

Rosetta Sciacca Volkov was born and grew up in the western-most part of the island of Sicily, in the ancient Phoenician settlement of Marsala. True to the spirit of her adventure-faring Phoenician ancestors, Rosetta emigrated to United States, returning to Italy some 10 years later and settling in Rome. She returned to the U.S. for university and later began her family there, but has never drifted far from her Sicilian roots. Educated in both countries and immersed in the culture and language of each, she seamlessly bridges both worlds. Rosetta's profound love for and attachment to the traditional ways of her native Sicily, along with its cuisine, literature, history and visual and performing arts, represent an important part of her life. Painter, writer, chef and businesswoman, Rosetta and her husband, Michael Volkov, divide their time between San Diego,CA, Washington DC, and Marsala, Sicily, maintaining residences there.